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Hindustan is derived from the Modern Persian word Hindū. In Old Persian, the region beyond the Indus River was referred to as Hinduš (the Iranic equivalent of SanskritSindhu[3]), hence Modern Persian Hind, Hindū. This combined with the Persian suffix -stān (meaning literally "place", and having the same origin as the English word "stand") results in Hindustan, "land of the Hindus". By about 1st century BC, the term "Hein-tu" was used by Chinese, for referring to North Indian people.[4][5] The term came into common use under the rule of the Mughals who referred to their dominion, centered on Delhi, as 'Hindustan'.

Most formally, in the proper disciplines of Geography and History, Hindustan refers to the region of the upper and middle Ganges valley; Hindustan by this definition is the region located between (but not including) the distinct lands of Punjab in the northwest and Bengal in the north-east. So used, the term is not a synonym for terms "South Asia", "India", "Country of the Hindus" [sic], or of the modern-day Republic of India, variously interpreted.

In one its current usages is among Hindustani speakers in India, the term 'Hindustani' refers to an Indian, irrespective of religious affiliation. Among non-Hindustani speakers e.g. Bengali-speakers, "Hindustani" is sometimes used to describe persons who are from the upper Ganges.

Hindustani is sometimes used as an ethnic term applied to South Asia (e.g., a Surinamese man with roots in South Asia might describe his ethnicity by saying he is Hindustani). For example, Hindoestanen is a Dutch word used to describe people of South Asian origin, in Netherlands and Suriname.

In Pakistan, the term 'Hindustani' was also infrequently used to refer to Urdu-speaking people in Karachi and Hyderabad, Sindh, who migrated from India during the partition of 1947.[citation needed] However, these people are now commonly referred to as Muhajirs. As well, within Pakistan, the term "Hindustan" is sometimes used as a synonym for the modern-day Republic of India.Even many Indian still call India as 'Hindustan'.

A Sketch of the History of Hindustan from the First Muslim Conquest to the Fall of the Mughal Empire by H. G. Keene. (Hindustan The English Historical Review, Vol. 2, No. 5 (Jan., 1887), pp. 180–181.)

Story of India through the Ages; An Entertaining History of Hindustan, to the Suppression of the Mutiny, by Flora Annie Steel, 1909 E.P. Dutton and Co., New York. (as recommended by the New York Times; Flora Annie Steel Book Review, February 20, 1909, New York Times.)

The History of Hindustan: Post Classical and Modern, Ed. B.S. Danniya and Alexander Dow. 2003, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-1993-4. (History of Hindustan (First published: 1770-1772). Dow had succeeded his father as the private secretary of Mughal EmperorAurangzeb.)